Things to Do at Hollywood Beach
Hollywood Beach's activity list centers on one genuinely singular feature, the Broadwalk, alongside a historic live-music venue and a real, nearby mangrove nature preserve -- named here as specific, real attractions rather than generic 'fun for the whole family' filler.
Walk, Bike, or Skate the Broadwalk
The Hollywood Beach Broadwalk itself is the island's central activity -- a 2.5-mile paved concrete promenade, begun in 1922 by founder Joseph Wesley Young as a 30-foot-wide, pink-cement path modeled on Atlantic City's boardwalk, but built in concrete rather than wood from the start. Today it functions as the island's primary walking, biking, and skating corridor, lined with restaurants, cafés, ice cream shops, and boutiques, per multiple regional descriptions -- genuinely one of the more distinctive dedicated oceanfront pedestrian corridors on the Florida Atlantic coast given its length and continuous paved surface. Bike and multi-wheeled-vehicle rentals are commonly available along the Broadwalk corridor, though this page did not confirm specific current rental operators or rates.
Catch Live Music at the Hollywood Beach Theatre
The Hollywood Beach Theatre -- successor to founder Joseph Wesley Young's 1924 Theater Under the Stars bandstand, destroyed by the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 -- is a 500-seat outdoor seaside venue that multiple regional guides describe as the only one of its kind remaining in Broward County. Its current concert programming, run by the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, features rock, R&B, blues, and Latin music across five nights a week (Wednesday through Sunday, roughly 7 to 9 p.m.), per available listings -- a real, regularly-scheduled, free or low-cost live entertainment option directly on the beach, distinct from a one-off festival or seasonal event.
Explore the Mangroves at Anne Kolb Nature Center and West Lake Park
A short trip across the Intracoastal to the mainland side brings you to Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park, a 1,500-plus-acre coastal mangrove wetland park -- one of the largest urban parks in Florida. The park offers marked kayak and canoe trails (a 0.9-mile White Trail, a 0.9-mile Green Trail, and a 1.2-mile Red Trail, per Florida paddling guides), an exhibit hall with a 3,500-gallon aquarium and a hands-on EcoRoom, an outdoor amphitheater, a 68-foot observation tower, an Intracoastal fishing pier, and nature, biking, and paddling trails. It's a genuinely different experience than the Broadwalk's beach-and-boardwalk activity -- a real ecological preserve within easy reach, worth the short bridge crossing for anyone interested in South Florida's mangrove estuary environment.
Beach Time on a Genuinely Wide, Managed Shoreline
Direct beach access along Hollywood Beach's oceanfront is the most obvious activity on the island, and its beach width benefits from Broward County's ongoing sand-bypass erosion management, covered in more depth on this site's Beach Erosion Reality page. This research did not confirm current specific lifeguard hours, beach equipment rental operators, or designated swimming-area boundaries for this exact stretch of shoreline -- confirm current beach-safety information directly with the City of Hollywood before a visit.
Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort and Broadwalk Hospitality
The Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort is a major hospitality property directly on the Broadwalk, and beyond running the Hollywood Beach Theatre's concert programming, it functions as a real anchor destination for visitors even if they aren't staying there -- pools, dining, and resort amenities that shape the central Broadwalk corridor's character, covered in more depth on this site's Community & Lifestyle page. This page did not independently confirm current day-visitor access policies or amenity pricing for non-guests.
A Short Drive to Downtown Hollywood
For activity beyond the barrier island itself, the mainland City of Hollywood's historic Downtown Hollywood district sits a short drive west across the Intracoastal Waterway, offering additional dining, arts, and entertainment options as part of the broader city -- distinct from the barrier-island identity this page family focuses on. This page does not attempt to profile Downtown Hollywood's specific attractions in depth, since it falls outside the oceanfront barrier-island scope of this page family.
Shop and Browse Along the Broadwalk
Beyond dining and beach access, the Broadwalk itself is described in multiple regional sources as lined with boutiques and small retail alongside its restaurants and cafés -- a real, walkable shopping element distinct from a traditional indoor mall or shopping center. This page did not identify specific, named retail businesses with confirmed current operating details, so it does not list individual shops here; a current visit or local business directory (including the Hollywood Beach Business Association's own listings) will offer more complete, up-to-date retail information than this page can responsibly provide.
What This Page Doesn't Cover
This page names the real, sourced, signature attractions at Hollywood Beach -- the Broadwalk itself, the Hollywood Beach Theatre, and the nearby Anne Kolb Nature Center. It does not provide a comprehensive, current events calendar, confirm current rental rates for bikes or beach equipment, or list every shop and small attraction along the full 2.5-mile Broadwalk. Confirm current hours, rates, and any seasonal events directly with the City of Hollywood, the Hollywood Beach Theatre, and Anne Kolb Nature Center before planning a visit.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: multiple regional history sources for the Broadwalk's 1922 construction by founder Joseph Wesley Young, its pink-cement/concrete construction, and its modeling on Atlantic City's boardwalk; Hollywood Historical Society materials and regional guides for the Hollywood Beach Theatre's history, including the 1924 Theater Under the Stars, its destruction in the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, and current programming details (500 seats, five-nights-a-week concerts) run by the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort; and Florida Rambler, Florida Hikes, Discover Florida Parks, and Paddle Florida for Anne Kolb Nature Center and West Lake Park's acreage, trail lengths, and facilities. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current lifeguard hours and swimming-area boundaries; current bike and beach-equipment rental operators and rates; current day-visitor access policies at the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort; and a comprehensive, current events calendar. Confirm current hours, rates, and events directly with the City of Hollywood, the Hollywood Beach Theatre, and Anne Kolb Nature Center before planning a visit.